Sweet Nostalgia
The Games We Play Hermosa balanced her blade onto her shoulder, her other hand on her hip. She stood so easily in the day of what she, as well as her comrades, would call her home - a ruined city beyond rescue and repair. The original population having been long evacuated, nothing roamed the city but Hollows and other creatures. Right now, she was standing over a roofless building which allowed the sun to beam down without hindrance from the sky itself. The floor felt rather cold, her bare feet gracing it with the soles of the bottoms. Her ears picked up the sounds of cheerful voices and actions from a short distance away, the sounds of the audience watching both her and the one she was facing down. She ignored it all... and focused on her fighting partner. It was the beginning of self-training. The blind Arrancar had volunteered to help out the ones in need. It would take several steps to the final goal... but she was determined to get it through to her "student"'s heads. The exercise, one that she had stated herself to "enhance the view of the world around one's self", was being taken by the very opponent she was about to cross swords with again. That opponent had been blindfolded in order to make it - at least in the viewer's mind - even. However, considering that Hermosa had lived blind for most of her life, and her partner could see... well, it was that much of an advantage. Remaining silent for a moment more, Hermosa readied her blade again and closed her sightless and pale eyes. "Ready?" She asked calmly. Loly was blindfolded... and she was going to have trouble, the area desolate, and she lacked the ability to do little with no field of vision. The only sense of sight she possessed was the empty darkness of her covered eyes. "Y-yes." her words were uneasy, this would be troubling... unsheathing her dagger, she flipped it into the middle of her fingers, for a fist-weapon or stabbing feel, incase one were to get close enough, or try to take her down. Letting out an exhale... she nodded. Time to train. "Then let's begin." With this statement, Hermosa charged... or rather, teleported with the use of her own Sonido to re-appear in front of Loly and begin her attack. Her sword flashed, her bare feet moving elegantly across the ground as she swung her blade in quick, rapid, and fluid motions. However, she was slowing down her strike speed enough for Loly to hear the wind being cut in order to avoid accordingly. It would be a test to see how quickly the girl would catch on. If she was fast enough, Hermosa could make it a bit harder little by little... if she succeeded, she would move on to the next stage. However, if she failed... ...well, at the very least, she would be suffering very grievous injuries. Hermosa was merciful... but only to an extent. On the sidelines were their friends, in their own various positions. Senkaku was watching rather intently, sitting cross-legged against one of the pillars. One of his hands had been oh-so-naturally clasped onto his mouth. Nnoitra was standing, arms folded across his chest, and his usual look of bored interest on his own face. Well.... he would've had his arms crossed, had he not been carrying Melina (who at the moment was sitting on his shoulder). One of his arms had been hooked around her forelegs, easily supporting her with his natural strength. Melina wore her usual smile of cheer, watching the fight with what looked like excitement. Such was the usual of life in the ruined city. At least... in terms of training. Menoly was sitting peacefully with her back against a piece of uplifted rubble, a make-shift chair. And Nacido Soñador had taken her spot next to Nnoitra, watching the battle with intent. Analyzing every detail of their patterns and reaction time. Loly kept her pace, with each exhale and inhale she perpared her parries, the movements slower due to the lack of vision, and a few slices managed to make it through, but if she swung around too wildly or fast, she would get out of candence and lose... she had to pace herself... waiting for a time to react, she made a quick sweeping motion with her legs to knock Hermosa down. This caused the blind Arrancar to smile a little. Avirrne's movements were carefully timed, warily executed... now, if that could only be converted into a natural flow, she would be just fine. That was one of the goals that Hermosa sought if she were to succeed in this endeavor. She stepped back as Loly performed the motion, though leaving one foot in the kicking path. Timing it, she raised that leg up before the other Arrancar could trip her, at the same time thrusting a kick into her crouched form as a result. With that very movement, and restriction on Loly's movements, Hermosa pulled her blade back in a quick flip before thrusting the killing edge towards the ribcage. Senkaku especially took note of this movement... and was quite surprised. This was fighting prowess that Hermosa hadn't displayed in the bouts he had seen her in. His own swordsmanship didn't seem to dominate hers anymore... a bit of jealousy came within him, yet he kept up his serene expression as he watched. Melina herself seemed to be a bit louder in her endevours. Cupping her hands to her mouth, she cheered for the former Numeros. "Go, Loly-chan!" She shouted, making Nnoitra wince a little. Jeez, could she be any louder? Oh, wait. No one answer that. She could. He could only pray that she didn't. Nacido held in a snicker directed towards Melina. Menoly only raised a brow as the battla grew. Loly waited, perparing herself, she performed a reversal, using her body and flexability to elegently sweep around her foe, taking note of how close she was... a few inches from the blade and now Hermosa's side, feeling the air rush by and the deathly close energy signature. Loly perpared her strike, flipping her dagger to the under-hand position, and thrusting it backwards, not even looking to her opponent, the blade's intent to pierce the arm or shoulder. Hermosa's eyes widened. Although she pulled her blade away and performed a Sonido in order to get away from being cut, the knife had managed to still deliver a shallow gash to her sword arm. She could feel the warm liquid drip down her arm for a moment, wincing a little as the air stung the open wound. "You're starting to get the hang of this already..." She commented, lowering her blade. "I thought it would've taken much longer.... impressive." Loly smirked. "I strive to impress." Watching her step, Loly began to walk side to side, waiting for the next motion, if one. It would be intresting to see how far Loly could go. Menoly on the other hand watched, smiling at her friends height in skill. Nacido only analyzed as she usually did... A small, coy smile came across Hermosa's own face. "Then you wouldn't mind if I push this a little harder." Immediately, she boosted herself from the ground, blade at the ready. her body was self-thrown towards the instructee, and once she came within range, she unleashed a stronger assault. This time, she would make it as hard as possible. She masked her spiritual energy in order to keep Loly from sensing it, and her sword swings increased to a more terrifying speed. The whirr''ing of the winds could not aid her; she was swinging so quickly, it seemed like from one ''whirr came one swing, when there were actually two. That ultimately eliminated the senses of sight and hearing... but she felt confident that Loly would pick up quickly. As they clashed, Nnoitra shifted his eye to look in the direction of his.... well.... girl. She seemed to be watching as intently as Senkaku was... were they that interested in the fight? They must be bored, because he wasn't getting anything out of it! He couldn't help but wonder if she was truly watching, or simply staring into space... willing to find out, he walked over to stand beside her, bent over a little, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Enjoyin' the fight?" He asked casually, smirking. Loly watched herself as she twirled around, using her single dagger to hold it in a grip, but her unawareness only lead to the blade grazing Hermosa's, and the Zanpakuto's came forward, slashing through a few strands of her hair, and snapping one of the pony-tail bands. Her hair falling downward, only a single pony-tail now standing upward. Quite a mess as hair fell infront of her face, and onto her shoulders, lengthy due to her not cutting it, and usually as she kept it in the pig-tails of hers. Growling, she waited again... she could parry if fully. Nacido broke out of her stare, glancing to Nnoitra. "Huh? Oh, kind of, just checking the reaction time." "Not very intense though." Admitting to her 'man'. "Well, of course not!" Nnoitra grinned even wider, even as he witnessed Hermosa pick up her attack to keep Loly onto her toes. "Hermie doesn't cut loose in sparring matches.... otherwise, the Numeros would've been dead by now." At least from the blindfold... he could easily note who was the better when it came to naturally fighting blind. With a rather carefree nature, he leaned his head against hers for a moment, though slightly disliking the fact that there was a skull helmet covering the top of her head. Nacido would still feel happy with it. Smiling to him, she nodded. "Sounds funny enough." Menoly glanced over to the two... such an odd pairing. It was so unfortunate that Hermosa could only "see" what she was aiming at, and not truly seeing... SLICE! For at the other moment, she had slashed the other hairpiece. Immediately, whatever Nnoitra's next comment could possibly be was immediately silenced as the hairpin was plucked from Loly's head, forcing the other side of her long hair to fall over her shoulders. His eyes immediately widened in shock, and his mouth gaped open a little. Senkaku, on the other hand, had a rather uncharacteristic look of dumbfoundedness and shock, even more so than Nnoitra. "Uh...uh...uh...." Was all he could manage, not believing what he just saw. It wasn't the fact that Hermosa had cut the hairpin.... it was how Loly was looking! "Huh?" Immediately, Hermosa stopped, lowering her blade for a moment. "What's wrong?" Loly blew in the air, wafting away at the hair in her face. Menoly soon followed the shock, she hadn't seen her hair down before, atleast not in a long time! "You've kinda given Loly a new hair-do. Looks great." Loly stifled a laugh, unsure if there was sacrasm or not. Nacido looked over. She smirked. "Not sure if this is aimed for entertainment or for combat." Loly only let out a gah. '' "''Auuuuuuuuuuu!" Melina couldn't help but let out a rather cute whine - and, unfortunately, Nnoitra was still managing to carry her (god, what strength!) "Don't look so pouty, Loly-chan, you look cute!" To emphasize, and what could've been something for laughs, she used her index fingers to point the corner of her mouth upwards in a smile, her eyes squinting into the upside-down U-shape. Maybe she'd even ask the woman if she could re-do her hair! Loly began to glance around, growling, she lunged (for where she thought) was the direction of Hermosa. In an attempt to tackle the girl while they we're all off-guard. Of course, no one gets such an attempt on the first try. "Wrong way." Even as Hermosa's voice spoke from immediately behind her, she didn't cease the next series of movements that came to hand. Using Loly's distraction as an opportunity, she allowed her sword to fall from her hands. Then, she used one of those hands to grab her opponent by the sword wrist, the other grasping the shoulder. With a forceful pull, she sent the other Arrancar to the dust with a WHUMPF!, twisting her arm every so often so that the body would be stomach-first on the ground. All it took then was a matter of placing a knee on her back and bending the captured arm behind her in order to subdue her. Loly began growling, trying to get up, but the force at which she landed knocked the breath out of her. Soon, her irritation built up as she couldn't get up. "Umm-nnnh... ugh!" Trying to buck her off, she winced as her arm was placed into the hold. Laying there with her hair blown about, she couldn't beat a master at their own game. Finally... she laid down, submissive to the hold, and sadly, to the loss. Menoly watched. And Nacido smiled to Melina and Nnoitra, wanting to see their own reactions. "Herma-chan won!" The first to react was Melina, who unhesitatingly jumped off of Nnoitra's shoulders (much to his relief) and ran over to the two. As she approached closer, Hermosa closed her eyes and let go of Loly's arm before getting off of her. "You were doing great up to that moment...." She commented, stooping down to pick up her fallen blade. "It was just a matter of letting outside distractions get in the way." She flipped her sword around for a moment, seemingly in a show of flourish. "But I do apologize for the inconvenience. Those two slashes weren't supposed to be aimed towards your pins." "I hope not." The two hair-pins were long since gone. And she'd have to go find some more elsewhere or here... "May keep it this way for awhile... just not as wild." Loly snickered at the thought. Menoly rebuttled, "A wild style fits your nature." Loly only scoffed back. "Wild?" Deciding to take part in the conversation, Nnoitra allowed himself to speak up for the first time. As Melina bent over in order to help Loly up, his eyes was directed towards the female Arrancar's new hairstyle. "No offense, but you look kind of like those...uh...witches..off of... I forgot the name of it...what was it, uh..." He used two fingers to pinch the bridge of his nose in thought. "Left for Dead...or Alive? It was some sort of video game. I don't think Tiger Boy would've gotten near you with that look...." He turned his head to the side... ...only to see Ggio nearby, leaning from behind a pillar with an ":D" on his face. The "leader" yelped, almost jumping back and away from him right then and there. "Someone mention me?" The word witch was going to be rebuttled, but the appearance of Ggio ceased this. "Thank you very much Nnoitra for your... 'opinion', but I'll be keeping it like this for awhile." It was just for spite's sake. If it annoyed Jiruga... it made Loly smile. And smile she did. "Thank you, Melina." A thanksgiving. Removing the cloth from her eyes, she blinked slowly as the world became clear again. No more darkness. "Hey..." Surprisingly, Melina's voice was a bit shy. If Loly had turned to her direction, she would've seen the girl with a nervous trace of red on her face, as if she was almost embarrassed to be asking. "When you do decide to re-style your hair again.... could I..." However, she managed to muster up the courage. Pulling away from the standing woman, she clasped her hands together. "Could I help you style and fix it?" She finished off the sentence quite cheerfully. Why the nervousness? Why the blush? Maybe she'd learn later... if it meant anything other the slight embarrassment... "I'd be glad if you could." A warm smile placed, "Really..." a tender expression touched her face, she brushed some of her hair aside. Not many besides Menoly ever wanted to help her out. Atleast not voluntarily. Besides with training of course... "So... how'd it go?" Senkaku immediately stood up, addressing the former Fraccion as he walked towards him. The "subordinate" had his arms folded across his chest, golden eyes staring into the ones of his "leader". "Well, it looks like we're in the clear for now." Ggio explained. "The Hollows in this area are pretty much cleared, so we're the only ones that're in this area as of now." That made Senkaku nod in acknowledgement. "There are a few signatures, but as of this moment, they're pretty much too far away." "Just in case, how strong are they?" "One of them's Espada-level, sir." Loly stayed with Melina, out of the conversation... but Menoly was a different case. "Intresting." Her ears had overheard it... "Might be time to see who or what it is." "Training to good use and all that..." "I do believe that one was also farther ahead... it's been drifting, but every minute, it closes in on our location. I think whoever it is, its aware of our..." As Ggio continued to explain the situation, Nnoitra couldn't help but overhear the conversation and roll his eye. If Sen wanted sensing, then why didn't he just get him for it? Promptly, he dropped Santa Teresa, letting it fall to the ground with a loud CLANG! Then, he placed his hand on the ground, unleashing a Pesquisa. He closed his eyes, trying to wait until the signature got close enough... ...strangely... it seemed familiar... Nacido watched. "Bet I can find it before you can sense it." She vanished with that being said, she would search the city as a lightning bolt streaked a sky. It would be humorous if she could do so. And she feared no enemy... weak or strong. Her intellect and speed far outmatched brute power. "WHA--" Needless to say, Nnoitra was dumbfounded.... for a split moment. Then, he narrowed his showing eye into a slit. "You're on, Naci...!" This time, he pushed his senses in order to find and locate the signature before the woman ever could! He wasn't about to let her show him up again! Nacido began to go from roof-top to roof-top, standing tall, then vanishing again to look for the target. Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck had made her way back to this city. It appeared that more had gone on, yeesh... this group was so involved with violence. Making her way down the street, a energy signature was bliping all over the place... fast and lean. There! Without warning, Nnoitra took off from his spot as well. He recognized it now, even as he leaped from roof-top to roof-top in order to meet up with the person. His hair whipped behind him as he moved quickly, as he made effort to keep up with Nacido. The smile that meant that he was clearly enjoying himself with the chase was evident. However, there was the problem and possibility of Menoly getting what she would've wanted... hoo boy, he didn't want that to happen! Though... He had to admit, it would've been interesting... Nacido reappeared behind the woman... cyan hair, long, a hollow skull on her head. A solumn look with a reddish scar on her face. A black shirt... and long jeans on. A black belt looped around them. The woman wielded her blade on her side, simple, with a western feel. Nelliel pondered, the signature had stopped... but another had formed. And this one... she remembered. ''Looking behind her, this was the one that had been moving all over the place... Nacido Sonador. ''Static. And it was this time that Nnoitra's figure appeared, off to the side. Santa Teresa was holstered across his back. His arms were folded across his chest, and his trademark grin was across his face. It brought about a rather nostalgic feeling, seeing Neliel again... naturally, his fingers started to twitch. Was it because he was facing her without raising a sword to her? Was it the lack of the grudge they once held against each other? He didn't know, nor did he care. All he was focused on was the woman in front of him (and partially the woman behind that one). "Oops.... I'm sorry...." He said coyly. "You did say you were going to come to me, not the other way around. Did I ruin it for ya?" "Not much." She scoffed at Nnoitra, typical. But the feeling of not being attacked on sight was a sigh of a relief. But who was this woman? Nacido muttered, "You both know eachother?" They seemed so... friendly to eachother. "Uh...." The smile was immediately replaced by a rather confused frown, followed by the rather intelligent response. Nnoitra turned his eye away for a bit, raising a hand to scratch the back of his head. "Remember that "Nel-chick" Miss Spikey Hair was talkin' about?" He asked Nacido. "This is...well... this is her." The statement was rather blunt... but how the hell else was he supposed to put it? "Oh." Mouthing the word in the obvious form. She looked her up and down, wasn't this the one that Menoly had mentioned Nnoitra used to know? Or something like that... when she had asked for more Menoly wouldn't answer. And she had smiled too... Nacido nodded, "Nice to meet you Nel." "I'm Nacido, Nnoitra's girlfriend." A rather possessive feel to the way the word was given. Nelliel smiled, and extended her hand to shake Nacido's own. "Ah, so he finally was able to get someone to like him?" An insult and a joke. Nacido liked. Nnoitra simply rolled an eye and scoffed back, a little bit miffed at the insult. "Well, I'm sorry that the ladies just fall for me." He drawled sarcastically, re-folding his arms. "Oh, and not to mention...." The grin once again crawled across his face as he wrapped an arm around Nacido's shoulders. "She says she's gonna have to cut ya if you make any moves on me, so don't bother." Though, he pretty much knew where they all stood. It was just fun to poke at people! "Well, that's good to know." Nelliel admitted, she was glad that his girlfriend was so defensive. But she was definately less matured then she herself was in -some- details. Nacido was younger then she, this made sense. Nacido nodded, "Yep." "And he'll get the same if he tries to dump me for some ho." Giving a wink to show it was more playful... but still true. "Wouldn't think of it." Nnnoitra answered simply. "Now, then..." His eye directed itself over at Nel's direction. "Were you coming for some other purpose... or were you coming for me?" It wasn't meant to be yet another crack, just the reference to what she had said to him before she had left the previous time. "If you can't remember then why am I here?" "I'm here to train you. That Cero you wanted to learn. The Trillizo Cero." Nelliel muttered. Nacido smiled, "The mighty Nnoitra needs training?! It's unheard of." Looking to him, she walked over to him, wrapping her arm through his. A sense of being his, ''made her feel warm. Resting her head on his arm. Gosh, he was so much taller then she was. "Dumbass." That was NNoitra's rather annoyed comment right back at Nelliel. Due to her movement, he had to switch his own arm so that she could fit hers around his. "Of ''course I remember. I was startin' to think that you forgot!" Ugh... she was starting to make him feel a little too relaxed... but he didn't complain about it. Nel smirked, a light one, just for once. "Alright then, since we're both greeted, you ready to begin training? I'll have to instruct you first, then I'll display it." Waiting for him to take note. "Yeah, yeah...." Nnoitra muttered, deciding to stuff his hands in his pockets for the moment. She was going to talk to him about how it worked, demonstrate, then have him do it. Pfft. He could do that! After all, a Cero was nothing a Hollow couldn't handle, and he was strong. So he was pretty sure that he could dominate this within the day. Nel smirked. "It'll require a volunteer... fire a Cero at me... then I'll show you." Vanishing a good distance away, she waited for him to fire his technique, then she could perform the next step. Nacido took her place at the side, disengaging her arm from his, this would be intresting... "Hmph." It always seemed they were still at odds, for as she smirked, he himself put on a scowl. "What in the hell is ''she smiling about?"'' He thought, narrowing his one eye. However, he didn't hesitate to obey the instruction. He stuck out his tongue, forming the reishi needed in order to summon the blast. At his command, the golden Cero sphere formed at the tip. Then, he promptly unleashed it, sending the blast in Nel's direction. Just for experimentation, he even added a considerable amount of power to it. Holding back would've been boring, after all! Traning With Past Foes Nelliel watched... it was the same strength as their second fight, back when they were tied with the Espada, and she had been just moments before a child. Smirking, she still had that... Waiting, the blast roaring past, she opened her mouth, absorbing the spiritual pressure, and all it's power... hissing from the pain; ingesting the whole energy was hard to do, and keeping it from causing you to explode even harder... it could cause ruptures quiet easily, and no Hierro saved one's internal organs. Looking to him, she noted, about to release it as a Trizzilo Cero... "After you consume both your enemy, and your own cero, merge it with another Cero of your own, or the next of your foes..." doing the former, she opened her mouth, shooting it towards the sky, unleashing the full fold power of three Cero's... Falling on her knee, she hissed, and winced, the pain was excrutiating. "Don't try it too often..." she would regenerate soon... that was what made this unique to only Espada or higher level Arrancars. None other could perform this technique. Nacido watched in awe as the blast emerged as a primarily gold blast, with tints of pink within. Astonishing...now the woman lay so tired, but a look of confidence was still on Nel's face. She was having difficulty. This was something that Nnoitra himself rarely saw. However, even as she stood on her knee, the cocky smile returned to the former Quinta's face. So the woman couldn't hold it in..... did it mean that he couldn't, either! Of course not! He'd show her that he knew what the hell he was doing! He was even willing to voice his thoughts: "Tch! Guess your own Cero thinks you're not tough enough to use it. This is gonna be bat-shit easy!!" She left out a factor, but she'd reveal it in his first attempt. "Then prove it." Nelliel began to charge her Cero, gathering a large mouthful of pink spiritual pressure, charging the energy, he could handle it; it was absorbing two additional one's he wouldn't... Letting out the Cero, she launched towards him at full power. He would learn... that the contact between a foes and one's own spiritual pressure, let alone another blast, could cause an explosion to come from the inside. Making a mess, it could easily rupture any organ, and cause all sorts of damage. If he survived; he wouldn't come out undamaged. At the oncoming death.... he merely smirked. Raising his arms out in a "come-on" motion, he opened his own mouth, consuming the Cero in the same manner that he would've done in the usage of a Cero Doble. However, this time, he was keeping it within himself. There was an obvious difference; pain came from within his insides.... however, his determination was forcing him not to look at such things. Once he had consumed the Cero fully, he readied himself, opening his mouth again to fire the Cero back. Something happened. SPLURCH! Instead of the new Cero coming out from his mouth.... blood vessels within him ruptured at points. The pressure was too much to contain within the body, and so it escaped, tearing several holes in his body in the process. His eye pupil almost shrank to nothingness as he felt the new wave of pain and agony come across him. All he saw was the crimson liquid in his vision.... everywhere.... his own blood....! "G....gah....!!!" WHUMPF! Within moments, he had collapsed, the expression of shock still on his face. His voice was rendered obsolete, as the torture was too much for him to use his voice. His body twitched, muscles begging him to stand once more, but unable to do so due to their immediate contraction. ....maybe this wouldn't be so easy, after all. "I told you." Nel watched, those eyes showing the sign of pity. "With that attitude, your begging for death." Walking over to him, but stopping at a distance, she offered a hand to pick him up. And as Nacido tried to intervene and heal him... A blade was raised towards her. "He needs to do it without your help. If he can't, then he doesn't deserve to master it... and he'll never be able to master this Cero." Nacido gulped... this was much more serious then their group's training... "...." And now Nelliel was once again looming over him. Growling loathingly, Nnoitra ignored his pain and rolled over on his back, hissing at the open wounds as they stung his nerves. "Fuck!!!" He hissed, shutting his eye for a moment. However, as he sucked in breaths through his teeth, he managed a hand to grasp Nelliel's in order to pull himself up. Once again, the bitch had gotten the chance to loom over her... and he had gotten a bit too cocky. "How the hell is she able to do that without blowing herself up...?!" He thought, his snake-like eye staring at her in a mixture of disdain and surprise. Nelliel helped him up, his own weight much more then the norm. All muscle and Hierro... "You need to make sure you concentrate. There is no short-cuts. Attempting to overpower the absorbed pressure will cause it to combust. Brute strength is not an option... it's always deadly if so." "You must try to merge your two Cero's with the foe's... to make the foe's signature convert to your own, instead of rejecting it." Nelliel waited for the response... "I...I only have one thing to say to that...." Nnoitra gasped, bent over slightly with his hands on his knees. "And what is that?" Nelliel pondered the possible answers... And surprisingly, Nnoitra allowed a grin to cross his face. "Timber...." With that, the weight of his wounds overtook him. His eye rolled into the back of his head, his grin faded away, and he fell back once again with a loud THUD into the sands once more, unconsciousness overtaking him. Before he passed out completely, however, he was hoping that Nelliel wouldn't leave the moment he did so. His wounds would heal.... however, if she left, he wouldn't be a completely happy person, left empty-handed and eating her dust. He'd hunt her down and kill her if she did that.... Nelliel waited as he fell, trying to keep him from falling too hard. "Ugh." Sighing, she watched him, taking a seat beside his now laying body. Looking to Nacido. "Go ahead and heal him..." Nacido nodded, "Gracias." going over to her boy-friend, she placed her hands on his back, trying to jump-start his anti-bodies and regenerating cells with an electro-static boost. "Senpai! Nacido-san!" It was at this time that Senkaku decided to make his appearance. Well.... not actually appearance, persay. Just like the fight between the orange-haired girl and the two Numerōs, he was behind a fallen rock, arms resting on the top of it. "I was hoping I'd find you here. Hope you're not roughing up my brother too much..." He remarked, a slightly joking tone lacing what would've been a usually dry voice. Nacido glanced over to him. "He does that on his own." she said calmly as she attempted to fuse together the muscles that had been charred from the pressure... making note as to keep from any wounds bleeding out. "I noticed...." Standing up, Senkaku pushed past the rock and approached the three, looking over Nnoitra's fallen body. He bent over the man himself, studying the healing process curiously. "Hmm... once you're done, and if you can't heal him completely, I could always finish up for you." "It's fine." Nacido finished stating... Nelliel looked to Senkaku. "Glad to meet you again." "His foolish attempts never cease..." She sighed as she stood up to shake the man's hand. "Ah!" That was when Senkaku realized his situation, slapping a hand to his forehead and standing back up. A sheepish smile had crossed his features. "Where are my manners? I just waltzed right in here without greeting you properly first!" Then, he lowered his hand, his other one behind his back. With that free hand, he shook the woman's own. "And, senpai... what do you mean by "foolish attempts", if I may ask?" Surely, this was part of the training, wasn't it? Shaking back, she gave a nod and a slight smile. Thankful for the honorary title he was giving to her. "He attempted to use my Cero on his first attempt, he put too much into it." Nacido kept her hands on him, then stopped, falling back on her bottom, too exhausted now... "Too much.... that would be him...." Senkaku muttered, craning his head in the direction of the fallen Nnoitra. At this moment, the man himself was beginning to stand back up once more, though only managing to get himself to a sitting position. He growled, rubbing his head. "Shit...." He cursed, a dull and rather annoying throbbing in his head. "You okay?" Nacido asked, she had tried to do her best to fuse the wounds shut, after all... she was designed for speed and combat; not for primary healing. Her gaze went over him to check for injuries... Nelliel looked to Senkaku, "Where's the rest of your group?" Fuerte Silenciar, Loly, and Menoly, were all back at the main camp, training or resting, the either most likely. "Training or resting." Senkaku answered freely, though keeping his voice rather formal and near-unemotional as he spoke. His eyes once again shifted towards who he considered his "senior". "All of 'em back a the main camp." He lightly shrugged. "Maybe one or two of them would be interested in seeing this man buckle under your tutelage, but I never bothered to ask." "I feel like a million fucking bucks." Nnoitra muttered, shaking his head a little in an attempt to clear it. He thought for sure he would wake up later than this. However, Nacido (thankfully) managed to save time and heal his injuries quickly. He grunted, struggling to stand back up on his two feet in order to try again. "Thanks for askin'." "No need for sarcasm, sir." She condoned her maternal and serious tone, a pissed off look to Nacido's gaze to Nnoitra Gilga. Nelliel on the other hand nodded, "I'm sure they would." The green haired woman's eyes turned to the former Espada, "For the record, your the only one who's failed and lived... I've seen two other Arrancars in my... life after Hueco Mundo that tried to copy my technique. Both ended up dead... deserving of it, they tried to attack my brothers before hand." "Just copy-cat corpses." "Hmph...." So there were two others who tried to pull the same thing and died because of it? "Well, obviously, they were just too weak..." He stated bluntly, though slightly wincing a little at Nacido's tone. In an effort to make it up to her, he decided to allow himself to lean on her, one side of his face nuzzling into her neck. The movement was made so that it would look like a non-verbal expression of "Sorry...." for her. After all, he wasn't one to actually say such a word! Nacido did accept it, after all, he was her boyfriend... and the chances of finding another were slim. "Nnoitra won't die." It was a simple statement, and a testament of faith for Gilga... but, all knew that Nnoitra wasn't just one to crawl up and die... Nelliel raised a brow, "Are you ready for a second time? And also note... I can't use this more then three times a day... it deals too much internal damage to use more then that..." Slowly, Nnoitra turned his head back towards Nelliel. "You really askin' me that?" He retorted, allowing himself to stand back up. Of course he was ready! He worked his arm out a little, more than prepared to try the second and third time. If he was going to die, then so be it. But he sure as hell wasn't about to give up on something that was obviously so easy! At least, once he knew what the fuck he was doing. "Good, the rest of you take a seat and watch." Nelliel vanished back to her original position... slowly, she inhaled and exhaled... balancing her spiritual pressure to the perfect synergy. Nacido did as told, and backed away to a more less endangering spot. "This should be interesting...." Senkaku decided to take a spot beside Nacido, making sure that he too was at a safe distance. He folded his arms across his chest, eyes studying carefully. Even if Nnoitra failed, he would get to see the after-effects of such a move for himself. He watched as Nnoitra performed the same action as before: firing a Cero at Nel from the tip of his tongue in order to initiate. Nelliel absorbed the Cero with ease... and began to merge it with her own, taking her time to convert the spiritual cells... confusing the nature of them to not harm her internally... and launched it at him. Nacido hoped he could do it. Don't attempt to overpower it.... Gritting his teeth, Nnoitra closed his eyes and waited for the Cero to come close enough. He was one used to brutality, one used to pain and domination.... it was an entirely new subject to accept something, embracing it as if it was his own.... but, it wasn't impossible. There were things that he was willing to embrace... his pride.... his fighting nature.... strong opponents.... it seemed so differe-- Wait a minute. Maybe it wasn't so different... Treat it as your own power.... He opened his mouth, allowing the Cero to come into his body once more. But this time, he used another Cero of his own to blend the them together. But, Nel had been right.... it was so straining.... so taxing.... but, Hell would freeze over before he declared himself beaten! He fell to his hands and knees, sucking in his breath and lowering his head. He could feel it building up within him, the power, and it craved for release! He granted it. With his head thrust in Nel's direction, he unleashed the tri-formed Cero straight at her.... and he could've sworn his mouth was being torn apart in the process. Nacido pulled her body away from the crushing energy, it was so much! Nelliel watched the blast, and used a brief Sonido to teleport herself away from the explosive energy, it was deadly, and she knew it. Evading a direct hit, she escaped from the damage, just barely. "Oof!!!" Senkaku himself was forcibly rammed into the ground, the very shockwaves having forced him into the sand. "Such power....!!!"' He thought, sweat falling down his face and his expression set to one of unhidden surprise. Nelliel had truly spoken - this was quite a powerful weapon to have!!! And now, Nnoitra himself held it. He couldn't help the smile that crossed his face. "Good job, Nnoitra...." As the smoke cleared, he looked at Nnoitra's hunched form, back rising and heaving to signal heavy breaths. "A little rough.... but I think we're getting there." Blood was dripping from his mouth, and his head was hung as he attempted to catch his breath. But there was nothing that could stop the triumphant emotion he was feeling right now. He grinned, his blood-stained teeth giving off a rather maniacal appearance. "Now that.... is a Cero...." He said in a finishing manner, arrogance returning to his tone once more. Why shouldn't he be? He had just learned her technique.... and in only two tries! He had every right to gloat about it! Nel just stood there and offered her own smirk. "Congrats, you've now learned my Cero." She offered a chirp before vanishing with the use of a Sonido, "But don't get cocky, I warned this would tired you out." She offered a swift kick towards Nnoitra's well exposed chest and gut, using a spinning twirl to the kick to knock him off his self-imposed pedestal.